Popol Vuh by Francisco Ximénez — Read

Then they made the small wild animals, the guardians of the woods, the spirits of the mountains, the deer, the birds, pumas, jaguars, serpents, snakes, vipers, guardians of the thickets.

And the Forefathers asked: 'Shall there be only silence and calm under the trees, under the vines? It is well that hereafter there be someone to guard them."